


Like Old Times (Before We Had A Care in the World)

by prototyping



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Prompt Fill, This is a happy one I promise, goofy kids being goofs, post-kh3, quick fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-07
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-29 13:43:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8492050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prototyping/pseuds/prototyping
Summary: They’re pretty overdue for a proper vacation, anyway. Terra + Ventus + Aqua, genfic.





	

“C’mon, it’s just a little farther!”

The trees were so close and thick here that Aqua could only watch the ground, mimicking Ven’s steps and trusting his hold on her hand to guide her the rest of the way. “Ven!” she laughed. “You said that half a mile ago!”

“I mean it this time!” he chirped. “I definitely know where we are now. Watch your head!”

She ducked under a stray branch, her left hand tightening around the one trailing behind her. “Duck, Terra!”

She heard something that sounded like _ah, jeez_ as his fingers nearly slipped out of hers, but a second later he caught himself and held on. All but blind, the two of them trusted Ven to keep on leading them.

Their patience and trust were rewarded a minute later as the distinct roar of rushing water could be heard in the distance. A brief uphill climb, a few more winding treks that had them wondering how on _earth_ Ven had memorized them, and then without warning the jungle abruptly ended. Hand-in-hand, the three of them emerged again into hot sunlight, their eyes adjusting to the bright rays as their ears adjusted to the sudden increase in volume.

“See? Told you it was a great spot!” Ven let go to hurry on ahead, but it was a few more seconds before Aqua could see well enough to confirm his claim. He hadn’t exaggerated: it was a small oasis amid the humid jungle, a miniature valley carved from a wall of black stone on one side and encased by vegetation on the others. The former boasted an impressively loud and wide waterfall that pounded into the small pool at its base a story below where they stood. The surface was in constant motion, but the water was so clear that Aqua could see down to the sandy bottom even from here.

“It’s beautiful,” she agreed. She had to crane her neck to try and see the top of the waterfall, but the sun sat at just the right angle on the ridge to make her give up the endeavor. “How’d you even find this place?”

Ven grinned at her, having moved further down the slope to stand at the lowest point of their small cliff-face. “You know I’ve got a knack for findin’ cool things.”

“Which means somebody told you about it,” Terra guessed.

Ven wrinkled his nose at him, but otherwise ignored the comment as he turned to Aqua again. “We don’t have to be back for a few more hours, right? Can’t we kill some time here for a little bit?”

He had a point. Their mission to this world had been easier than expected and they’d finished far ahead of schedule; neither did they have any other work lined up just yet. “What d’you think, Terra?” she asked. “You need to be anywhere?”

He shook his head as he moved to join Ven. “Nope, I’m free. But Ven’s leaving.”

“Huh?” Ven stared at him. “I am? Where?”

Terra casually set a hand on his shoulder -- and then suddenly gave him a shove to send him over the edge.

_“Waugh--!”_ Ven’s yell was interrupted by a loud splash. Aqua hurried over just in time to see him surface, whipping his wet bangs from his eyes with a jerk of his head. _“Hey!”_ he called back up with a grin. “That was dirty!”

Turning to Terra, she set her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow. “What?” he said innocently, but she recognized the look in his eyes. A second later she swiftly sidestepped the lunge he made for her, pivoting gracefully around him and setting her heels on the ledge.

“Way too slow, Terra.” She stuck her tongue out with a smile, and then threw herself into a wide backflip and dove towards the pool of her own accord. The water was comfortably warm when she plunged into it a second later. She didn’t swim for the surface right away, but watched the sunlight ripple over it as her body temperature quickly acclimated to the new surroundings, the noise of the waterfall now muffled and distant. She was probably the better swimmer of the three, not least of all because she could hold her breath twice as long as they; she could have easily gone a full minute before surfacing. Not wanting to worry them, however, she counted leisurely to twelve and then kicked to propel herself upward.

She came up with a splash beside Ven, who laughed and shielded himself. “Hey!” When a larger splash behind them announced Terra’s arrival, Aqua caught Ven’s eye and silently pointed with a sly smile. Catching her meaning, he mirrored the look and waited close beside her; when Terra broke the surface, the two of them slipped under and made a beeline for him. By the time Terra probably had reason to be suspicious, Aqua and Ven tackled him from below and pulled him back under the water.

There was a moment of halfhearted flailing, of three-way tussling and Aqua dodging a grab and Ven getting caught in a headlock -- and then they all surfaced together in a wave of laughter. Ven practically jumped on Terra’s shoulders, fighting to push his head back under, but Terra caught his arms and pulled him forward to dunk him with ease. He turned around towards Aqua -- who spit a perfect stream of water straight into his face. Surprised, he recoiled as though shot.

“Hey--!”

“Go, Ven!”

Terra turned back, but Ven had already made a circle around him and tackled him again, throwing his arms around his neck from behind. Aqua quickly joined and threw herself over Ven, making Terra struggle to hold up both their weights.

“How is this fair?” he demanded, voice strained with the effort.

“It’s not,” they answered in unison. That only made them laugh more, at least until Terra suddenly stopped fighting and dropped all three of them into the water.

That ended their battle, at least for now, and at a more relaxed pace they explored the boundaries of the pool. Aqua discovered the small stream that it emptied into, an almost invisible trail of water that soon disappeared beneath the thick underbrush of the jungle. She lingered there for a while, running her fingers through the gentle current and smiling whenever the occasional bright fish passed beneath her hand.

“Hey, Aqua!”

She looked up to see Ven and Terra at the base of the waterfall, the former motioning her over. She paddled her way across, where Ven pointed up at the wall of water -- specifically, an outcropping of stone that was only a little out of reach. Beyond it was a series of small steps and cracks in the wall, handholds that, if maneuvered through correctly, would let them climb to the very top. She didn’t need to ask to guess their intention.

A moment later she was taking Ven’s outstretched hand and moving to sit on his shoulders, although she couldn’t help a little well-intentioned skepticism. “You sure you can manage, Ven? Terra could always--” She gave a small yelp of surprise as she was suddenly lifted up, steadying her hands atop his head to keep from pitching backwards. He had to hold onto the wall to maintain his position, but sure enough, Ven could stay afloat while supporting her just fine. He leaned his head back to flash her an upside down grin, clearly proud of having surpassed her expectations. While she shared in his pride, she couldn’t help wondering when he’d gotten that strong.

The small boost in height gave Aqua enough of a reach to catch hold of the first ledge. It was slippery even without her fingers being wet, but she secured a good grip and began pulling herself up. She had to stand on his shoulders there at the end, but she managed and leapt nimbly onto the ledge without a problem. Next was Ven: Terra gave him a boosting step up, and then Aqua caught hold of his hands to help him the rest of the way. She and Ven then laid flat on their stomachs, each holding out a hand for Terra, and together managed to pull him up alongside them.

That was the hardest part. They were all skilled climbers from their years spent tumbling around the mountainsides back home, so it only took a few minutes, with Terra leading, to find a route up the cliff-face.

The trio was rewarded with a far-reaching view of the skyline in all directions. This was a pretty big world, at least by their standards, and most of it was covered in green. For Aqua, especially, who hadn’t seen so much life in one place in _years_ , the sight was a little breathtaking.

Together they relaxed on the sun-warmed stone, close enough to let the waterfall sprinkle them with cool spray. Both boys stretched out on either side of Aqua to stare skyward, but she continued watching the skyline. None of them spoke for several peaceful minutes, simply catching their breaths as they enjoyed their achievement.

Finally, Aqua stood and began to peel off her sopping clothes, starting with her sleeves and gloves, untying the sashes from her waist, and then stepping out of her boots and pulling off her stockings. There were a few thick tree limbs hanging nearby, so she constructed a makeshift clothesline and hung her things up to dry. When she turned back, Terra and Ven were still lying in place.

“Come on, Ven,” she urged, stepping up beside him. “There’s no way all those layers will dry like that, and you don’t need to catch a cold when we go home.”

He gave a tired sigh, but climbed to his feet with a word of compliance and headed for the same tree. Aqua sat beside Terra, who moved to stand without needing prompting. A minute later they both returned, Terra in the black pants he wore under his outer clothes while Ven was stripped a little more shamelessly -- or just cluelessly -- down to his boxers. His hair was a mess by now, one that he appeared to have given up attempting to tame in this humidity. Aqua scooted over to sit cross-legged behind him and began to run her fingers through it, straightening out his spikes. She half-expected him to find it patronizing and object, but he let her do as she liked.

“So, think you can remember where this place is?” she asked him. “I wouldn’t mind coming back when we have some more free time.”

“Yeah! Hey, it’d be a nice vacation spot when winter hits back home, too!”

She chuckled. “I think you’re right. Let’s just bring a change of clothes next time, okay?”

“I _was_ gonna get undressed before I went in. That was Terra’s fault.”

“Hey,” Terra objected, “you’d have done the same thing. I just thought of it first.”

When Ven didn’t offer a comeback, it was clear Terra had hit the nail on the head. It also meant he had just put a target on his own back, Aqua thought, but she wasn’t going to say it if he hadn’t already figured it out. Well, it would keep things interesting, like always.

...Even more so, she considered with a small smile, if she struck first and shoved them _both_ into the pool next time. It was always fun catching them off guard like that.

Now she had something else to look forward to.


End file.
